Classic Riffs

Once again we turn to Wikipedia, which offers this as the definition for "riff" --

In music, a riff is an ostinato figure: a repeated chord progression or melodic figure, often played by the rhythm section instruments, that forms the basis or accompaniment of a rock music or jazz composition.

The term "riff" is sometimes regarded as slang, and is used primarily in discussion of forms of rock music or jazz. "Most rock musicians use 'riff' as a synonym, almost, for 'musical idea.'" (Middleton 1990, p.125)

David Brackett (1999) defines them as, "short melodic phrases," while Richard Middleton (1999) defines them as, "short rhythmic, melodic, or harmonic figures repeated to form a structural framework."

This opens things up in my mind ... I was being too limiting in my understanding of what a "riff" was when I posted my prior entry. I thought a riff was a one-time, short note progression played at the beginning of the song without other accompanyment at first. And with that in mind came "Smoke on the Water" and "Satisfaction".

Your post, as well as Wikipedia, now brings to mind others:

• Iron Man (Black Sabbath)
• Back in Black (AC/DC)
• Black Dog (Led Zeppelin)
• You Really Got Me (Kinks)
• Money (Pink Floyd)
• Sunshine of Your Love (Cream)
• Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix)
• In a Gadda Da Vida (Iron Butterfly)
• Monkey Man (Rolling Stones)
• Walk This Way (Aerosmith)

Even with my limiting definition, I can't believe I overlooked "Money."

Given all that, I think "Smoke on the Water" may be the most famous opening riff in music, though as you say, I doubt many young people would be able to name it. They might recognize it, but they wouldn't be able to say, "Oh yeah, 'Smoke on the Water' ... Deep Purple 1970, right?"

I'm going to take this a different direction and point out something that's been on my chest for a while. I can't supress it any longer. Here goes: I think Keith Richards is a wonderful guitarist. He's not all flash like Eddie Van Halen ... but there's a certain understated coolness about his playing. In a lot of ways Edge (U2) reminds me of Keith Richards. One song in particular I like is "Monkey Man" (see list above). I have that on my MP3 player and the other day when I was out running I was listening to that song. I could just picture him standing there, cigarette hanging out of his mouth, effortlessless working the rhythm riff of that song.

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I'm not intentionally maligning The Beatles by their exclusion ... it's just that I've never been much of a Beatles fan and when I stop to think about music I can't easily recall Beatles songs. And that's just stupid of me, given that Lennon/McCartney may have been the all-time masters of the catchy pop riff. To the extent I like the Beatles, it was formed more by the White album rather than earlier stuff. "Number 9" has no riff :-)

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Led Zeppelin ... I'll confess I'm not a huge fan of theirs, but there are times, when the mood is right, that a song by them will be perfect. That's usually in the car, late at night. Songs that come to mind:

• When the Levee Breaks
• Kashmir
• Misty Mountain Hop

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Objectively ... is "Stairway to Heaven" a good song? I can't judge ... I lived through a decade of that song being voted "The Best Song of all Time" over and over again. I've resented the song ever since.